Advances in data science and technology are transforming how animal welfare is measured, enabling objective, continuous, and population-level welfare assessment.
Welfare measurement has historically been limited to infrequent, subjective assessments by trained observers. Data science is transforming this through continuous, objective, population-level monitoring that detects welfare problems earlier and more reliably. The integration of welfare monitoring into normal farm management systems, rather than as a separate audit activity, represents the future of evidence-based welfare improvement.